19 U.S. Code § 1307 - Convict-made goods; importation prohibited

All goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor under penal sanctions shall not be entitled to entry at any of the ports of the United States, and the importation thereof is hereby prohibited, and the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary for the enforcement of this provision. The provisions of this section relating to goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured by forced labor or/and indentured labor, shall take effect on January 1, 1932; but in no case shall such provisions be applicable to goods, wares, articles, or merchandise so mined, produced, or manufactured which are not mined, produced, or manufactured in such quantities in the United States as to meet the consumptive demands of the United States.

“Forced labor”, as herein used, shall mean all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily. For purposes of this section, the term “forced labor or/and indentured labor” includes forced or indentured child labor.

Provisions in the same language as the provisions in this section were made by act Oct. 3, 1913, ch. 16, § IV, I, 38 Stat. 195, superseding similar provisions of previous tariff acts. That subdivision was superseded by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title III, § 307,42 Stat. 937, and repealed by section 321 of that act. Section 307 of act Sept. 21, 1922, was superseded by section 307 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.

Amendments

2000—Pub. L. 106–200inserted at end “For purposes of this section, the term ‘forced labor or/and indentured labor’ includes forced or indentured child labor.”

Effective Date of 2000 Amendment

Pub. L. 106–200, title IV, § 411(b),May 18, 2000, 114 Stat. 298, provided that: “The amendment made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [May 18, 2000].”

Prohibition on Use of Funds To Prevent Enforcement of Ban on Importation of Convict-Made Goods

Pub. L. 108–90, title V, § 514,Oct. 1, 2003, 117 Stat. 1154, provided that: “For fiscal year 2004 and thereafter, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Homeland Security shall be available for any activity or for paying the salary of any Government employee where funding an activity or paying a salary to a Government employee would result in a determination, regulation, or policy that would prohibit the enforcement of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).”

Prohibition on Use of Funds To Allow Importation of Forced or Indentured Child Labor

Pub. L. 108–90, title V, § 515,Oct. 1, 2003, 117 Stat. 1154, provided that: “For fiscal year 2004 and thereafter, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Homeland Security may be used to allow—

“(1) the importation into the United States of any good, ware, article, or merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor, as determined under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); or

“(2) the release into the United States of any good, ware, article, or merchandise on which there is in effect a detention order under such section
307 on the basis that the good, ware, article, or merchandise may have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor.”

Reporting Requirement on Forced Labor Products Destined for United States Market

“(a) Report to Congress.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 17, 1998], the Commissioner of Customs shall prepare and transmit to the Congress a report on products made with forced labor that are destined for the United States market.

“(1) The extent of the use of forced labor in manufacturing products destined for the United States market.

“(2) The volume of products made with forced labor, destined for the United States market, that is in violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 [19 U.S.C. 1307] or section
1761 of title
18, United States Code, and is seized by the United States Customs Service.

“(3) The progress of the United States Customs Service in identifying and interdicting products made with forced labor that are destined for the United States market.”

Sense of Congress Requesting President To Instruct Secretary of the Treasury To Enforce Section 1307 Without Delay